Jewish-Christian Relations

Current events pertaining to Jewish-Christian relations, including the relationship of the Jewish people to the Catholic Church, papal teachings about Israel and Judaism, speeches to Jewish representatives, and papal visits to the Holy Land.

"We meet as brothers, brothers who at times in our history have had a tense relationship, but now are firmly committed to building bridges of lasting friendship." Here is the text of the farewell address Benedict XVI gave at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion international airport, before boarding a plane to return to Rome.

"Our Two Communities Are Challenged to Engage People of Good Will at the Level of Reason." Here is the text of Benedict XVI's address during a courtesy visit to the "Hechal Shlomo" center, seat of the Grand Rabbinate, after he visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

"Sadly, anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head in many parts of the world. This is totally unacceptable." The following is the speech delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at Ben Gurion airport upon his arrival in Israel on May 11, 2009.

"Like Moses, We Too Have Been Called by Name." Here is the text of the discourse Benedict XVI gave on May 9, 2009 when he visited the Basilica of the Moses Memorial at Mount Nebo. Tradition holds that at this spot, God showed Moses the Promised Land.

On March 9, 2009, the Central Committee of German Catholics released a heretical document entitled Nein zur Judenmission - Ja zum Dialog zwischen Juden und Christen ("No to Jewish mission - Yes to dialogue between Jews and Christians"). This document claims: "We emphasize, with the Church of the Second Vatican Council, that God's covenant with the Jewish people represents a way of salvation to God - also without recognition of Jesus Christ and without the sacrament of Baptism". German philosoper Robert Spaemann responds to the document's claims (in German).

Benedict XVI calls the Shoah "a Crime Against God and Against Humanity" and reaffirms that "the Church draws its sustenance from the root of that good olive tree, the people of Israel, onto which have been grafted the wild olive branches of the Gentiles (cf. Rom 11: 17-24)."

Pope Benedict XVI said any minimization of the Holocaust was unacceptable, especially for a priest, as he met with Jewish leaders in hopes of ending the rancor over a bishop who denied 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis.

Following the reactions aroused by the recent Decree of the Congregation for Bishops, with which the excommunication of the four Bishops of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X was remitted, and in relation to the negationist and reductionist declarations concerning the Shoah on the part of Bishop Williamson of the same Fraternity, it is held opportune to clarify certain aspects of the matter.

More than any other pope, John Paul II was the twentieth century’s greatest papal friend and supporter of the Jewish people. Indeed, John Paul II’s extraordinary relationship with the Jews was an important chapter in the historic legacy of his pontificate, which has had profound implications for Catholic-Jewish relations in our time.
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